Guillem de Torroella (also written Torroelha) was a

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

n poet whose family came from Empordà. He was born in 1348. He wrote the ''Faula'' in

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

(and a small part in French) around 1370. It was edited in 2007 in the ''Library of Majorcan Writers'' by Anna María Compagna Perrone.

La Faula

''La Faula'' (''The Tale'') is a tale written by Guillem of Torroella, part of the

Matter of Britain The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the list of legendary kings of Britain, legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Art ...

, which explains in first person how he was kidnapped and taken to the Enchanted Island by

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (; Welsh language, Welsh and Cornish language, Cornish: Morgen; with ''le Fay'' being garbled French language, French ''la Fée'', thus meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morgant Mor ...

who, with the presence of Torroella, wants to end the invincible sadness of her brother,

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

. The presence of the foreigner comforts the king, who had fallen in a deep sadness over the decline of chivalry. King Arthur finally entrusts Torroella with a mission: go back to the real world and explain all he has seen. The story begins in the valley of Sóller in

. Torroella arrives on horseback at the port of Santa Caterina, where he sees a parrot on a rock. Torroella decides to approach to bird but just at that moment the "rock", which in reality was a whale, carries him through the sea until he arrives at the Enchanted Island (Sicily, for many scholars) where his adventure begins and he meets an

occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

-speaking serpent then the famous king Arthur. This book was a model for some later writers like

Bernat Metge Bernat Metge (; ( 1350 – 1410) was a Catalan writer and humanist, best known as the author of ', which he wrote from prison ( 1398), in which Metge discusses the immortality of the soul. He was a courtier and Secretary for Joan I of Aragon, q ...

Anselm Turmeda Anselm Turmeda (), later known as Abd Allah at-Tarjuman (; 1355–1423), was a Christian priest from Mallorca who converted to Islam and settled in Tunis. He is one of the earliest writers to have written in both Arabic and a Latin language ( Cata ...

and

Joanot Martorell Joanot Martorell (; c. 1410 – 1465) was a Valencian knight and writer, best known for authoring the novel '' Tirant lo Blanch'', written in Catalan/Valencian and published at Valencia in 1490. This novel is often regarded as one of the peak ...

References

External links

''La Faula'' at RIALC

Guillemos Of Torroella: ''La Patraña'' (fragments)

2007 edition by Anna Maria Compagna Perrone
{{Authority control 14th-century poets Writers of Arthurian literature 1348 births Majorcan writers Arthurian legend 14th-century people from the Crown of Aragon